I love Express. WebStorm sets everything up for you so setting up a new Express app takes around 1 second (just the time to click the "New Project" button)

And beyond the setup, I really like the way it works. When using Socket.io, it is nice to have everything under one roof, so to speak, so that all of your HTTP, AJAX and WebSocket requests are all shared by the same app.

hallsofvallhalla wrote:I actually just started using express with a new project i am doing. It requires Socket.io, Mongo, Nodejs, and I am using passport for authentication.. so it is the obvious answer.

I see why you like it though. It is very MVC orientated.

Sort of. It is actually quite light in the MVC department, and does not actually satisfy all the requirements of the pattern. It has no models out of the box, but many people use Mongoose with it to create a true model.

Believe me, it isn't the most feature-packed framework, and I readily admit that. But the thing is, I have tried a couple of other node frameworks, and most of them are so over-engineered they begin to move away from a node feel, and make integrating with Socket.io more difficult. Express on the other hand integrates just fine with Socket.io, making hybrid HTTP/AJAX/WebSocket apps no problem at all. And for me it is MVC enough.